I looked over at Gabriel. His eyes were still closed, and a cute, quiet snore was puffing out at a tempo that aligned with the gentle beating of his heart. My experience wasn’t like the one my mom had, but it was just as profound. Time didn’t freeze, and I didn’t feel the world knocking into alignment. It was more like when the ancient earthquakes caused Pangea to split. It was powerful and terrifying and totally out of my control, but once the dust settled and the astronomical shaking finally ceased, what was left behind was something that was always meant to be there. The sudden entrance of Gabriel seemed to be peeling away pieces of me I would have otherwise thought belonged there.
It was almost like he was an extension of my true self.
I didn’t believe in love at first sight or soulmates. Auras are ever-changing, and so are people. Twenty-four hours ago, I would have climbed the hill that the strongest relationships are not divine but the cornucopia of hard work and died there. Something different was filling me now. The connection I felt with Gabriel the second he wrapped his arms around me took my breath away like it didn’t totally belong to me in the first place, but the breath he gave back was fresher than any I’d breathed before.
How frightening.
I made a note to discuss the matter with my mom later as I watched the sun peak over the horizon through my bedroom window and rise into the dark blue sky. I’d always been an early riser, and that didn’t compare to Gabriel laying next to me. I definitely wasn’t going back to sleep. I tossed aside my blanket and kicked a foot off the bed, but before I could get the other over, Gabriel’s arms tightened around my waist and pulled me even closer to him. It was as gentle as it was strong, and I released myself to it, allowing him to nestle me back into him.
“Just a few more minutes.”
His voice was like silk. If I could have recorded it and made it my ringtone, I would have. His deep, gravelly voice; his strong, careful arms; his beautiful, youthful face; his tender, but animalistic love making—what sort of beast had I stumbled upon?
I turned my head enough to peck against his lips. “I was going to make breakfast.”
“Real breakfast?” he grumbled against me, and I laughed.
“What the hell is real breakfast? As opposed to what?”
“Tofu bacon and fake cheese.”
I snorted. “I have real bacon and real cheese. I cook for my best friend and my assistant all the time, and they both would murder me if I tried to feed them anything that even shared an apartment with tofu bacon.”
“Smart friends.”
There were soft, warm kisses against the nape of my neck, and they sent chills down my spine. If I wasn’t careful, I wasn’t just going to slowly descend the cliff to Gabriel, I was going to jump headfirst, the sharp, jagged rocks at the bottom be damned.
“Breakfast and Netflix.” I giggled. “We already took care of the chill part.”
His body shifted around me as he laughed. “I would say we started the chill part. I’m not done yet.”
I raised an eyebrow, the promise of a round-two already seeping down south. “Well, that’s good, because I’m not either.” I rolled around so that I could give him a proper kiss. “Breakfast first?”
Gabriel’s eyes finally drifted open. When they landed on me, my entire body shook. “Breakfast first.”
Though there was still a heavy reluctance to Gabriel’s arms as I pried them off of me, he eventually let me go, and I climbed out of the bed. I slipped on a silk robe I had slung over a chair next to my bed and started for the stairs. I risked a look back over my shoulder at Gabriel, but he was already sitting up in bed, and even with his hair a mess around his head, his eyes were dead set on me, watching me like the most interesting movie he’d ever seen.
“What?” I asked.
Gabriel shook his head. “Nothing.”
I continued down the stairs and into the kitchen, all the while trying to ignore the stupid smile I couldn’t get off my face. If he stayed all day and another night, I wouldn’t mind. Gabriel was special. I didn’t know to what degree, but somehow, I knew.
I worked on our breakfast over the course of the next twenty minutes. I made a veggie omelet with cheese for myself and one with bacon and cheese for Gabriel. I carried the plates into the living room and set them down on the coffee table before heading back for a couple of glasses of orange juice. Hopefully, Gabriel didn’t mind pulp. It was my preference. When I was on my way back into the living room, Gabriel was wandering down the stairs with only his pants on, and I wasn’t about to complain about the view. He was clicking through his phone, not paying much attention, but he did have a look of confusion on his face.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Gabriel responded. He looked up at me with a smile, sliding his phone into his pocket. “I was expecting a thousand angry texts from my brother, but he left me alone.”
I grinned, hiking up my shoulders and presenting the juice like some sort of award. “Lucky us.”
Gabriel wrapped an arm around my waist and closed in on me. I had to hold the glasses of orange juice out of reach as he planted a kiss on me. First, my lips, then my cheek, then my neck. I was already shivering with excitement. It felt so natural.
“We decided on breakfast first.”
Gabriel grumbled. “We did.” He held up one finger, seductively sliding it against my bottom lip. “One breakfast.”
I found myself leaning forward with my lips parted, so much so that when Gabriel pulled away, I almost fell. He played innocent, but there was something deep inside him. Not quite a demon, but something inhuman. He reminded me of a Grecian statue. Perfectly designed on the outside and may even have fabric designed to look soft and real, but underneath what was meant to look serene and fragile was actual stone. I had a